5 minPolitics
California law targeting immigration support providers draws lawsuit threat
California Assemblyman Carl DeMaio says he will sue over a new state law that shields immigration support service providers, arguing it criminalizes citizen journalism and protects fraud. The governor's office denies the claim.
California’s new law creating privacy protections for immigration support service providers is about to face a legal challenge, with Republican state Assemblyman Carl DeMaio announcing plans to file a lawsuit he says will defend First Amendment rights and expose what he calls a “monumental” fraud problem.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill last week, and it takes effect Oct. 1. The measure, officially titled “Privacy for immigration support services providers,” shields the addresses of providers, employees, and volunteers, and imposes penalties on those who publish their images on social media. DeMaio argues the law effectively criminalizes investigative journalism and silences citizen watchdogs who document how taxpayer-funded organizations spend public money.
“What does the Stop Nick Shirley Act do? It basically makes it illegal for a citizen journalist to document fraud of taxpayer money and post that on the internet in the form of an internet video,” DeMaio told Fox News Digital. The law is informally named after Nick Shirley, a conservative video blogger who has posted footage of what he says are fraudulent activities by immigrant-support nonprofits.
DeMaio said he and a “coalition of civil liberty protectors” are preparing the legal challenge. “We have a plaintiff and are putting together the legal briefs,” he said, adding that “it is a matter of time before we’re going to get before a judge to stop this act.” He also said he hopes the U.S. Department of Justice will intervene, calling the measure “an open-and-shut infringement on our First Amendment rights.”
The assemblyman said he has been in discussions with the Justice Department’s Office for Civil Rights about the law. “I have asked the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights to look at the Stop Nick Shirley Act … to see if they can do anything to intervene to prevent the implementation of this law,” he said. “We have been dialoguing with the Department of Justice, and now we have a game plan as to how we will proceed forward in the courts to overturn this unconstitutional law.”
DeMaio compared California’s situation unfavorably to a well-known fraud case in Minnesota, where federal prosecutors charged dozens of people in connection with a scheme that siphoned millions from a food program meant for children. “If you were worried about Somali daycare centers in Minnesota not having children in the daycare, take a look at California government NGOs receiving taxpayer funds and not having any sort of public services that they’re delivering,” he said. He alleged that some organizations claiming to provide services to immigrants instead organize rallies, harvest ballots, and endorse candidates, calling them “an extension of the Democrat Party.”
Addressing Newsom directly, DeMaio said: “Gavin Newsom, once again, you’re a bully trying to silence citizen watchdogs into not exercising their First Amendment rights and exposing your fraud, the billions of dollars that you’ve allowed to be wasted of precious taxpayer funds, all because you want the benefit of these left-wing NGOs to help you politically.” He accused the governor and the Democratic supermajority of creating “such a monumental problem with fraud of taxpayer money being abused that it’s clear that it is intentional.”
Newsom’s office rejected the characterization. Spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo told Fox News Digital that “this law has nothing to do with Nick Shirley” and that “the real controversy here is that MAGA Republicans are either lying to create fake conspiracy theories, or none of them know how to read.” She said the law does not affect Shirley’s journalism, which the governor’s office previously referred to as “grifting” and “lying,” and does not hide fraud.
Fox News Digital also reached out to the offices of California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, both Democrats, for comment. DeMaio said the planned lawsuit is a matter of time, and he expects to be before a judge soon to seek an injunction against the law.
